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With these symptoms, could I possibly *not* have an acoustic neuroma?
jaylogs:
Hi Jill! I'll be anxious to hear your results of your MRI. As stated by the others, a lot can mimic an AN. Those of us that have been on here a while have read many people who SWORE they had it only to find out...nada! So, try to remain optimistic and wait for the MRI results. And keep that house clean! :)
Jay
PaulW:
2) Since I am too much of a realist to believe the stuff above (unless I get some help), maybe you can convince me that I will not necessarily turn out to have a large or relatively fast-growing AN. I am concerned that it will be because I have facial sensation issues and I read that the AN has to grow out of the ear canal and press on the trigeminal nerve for this to happen. Which would mean fairly large, no? And with this sudden hearing loss, fairly aggressive? But on the other hand, my hearing on the left side is still fine for speech in most circumstances and the tinnitus I have is very mild. If the AN were large enough to touch the trigeminal nerve, wouldn't it have already destroyed most of the hearing on that side? Wouldn't I have more pronounced balance issues?
There are lots of things that can cause these problems, most are less trouble than an Acoustic Neuroma.
As for some of your other questions.
Does it need to be big to touch the Trigeminal Nerve.... No... it could be 1cm. The distance from the edge of the Internal Auditory Canal to the Trigeminal Nerve is only about 5mm.
Does Rapid Hearing Loss mean fast growing tumour? again no. Lots of people have lost their hearing suddenly with a 1.0cm tumour.
I lost most of my hearing in 12 hours and my tumour was 10mm at the time. Fortunately it came back.
There are people that have had no hearing and poor balance with a 1cm tumour, and others who had no problems at all with an 8cm tumour...
You really cant tell.. The majority of AN's are detected before 3cm
Try and stay calm there are lots of things it can be.. and even if it is an AN, you may be able to simply observe it, as many do not grow.
I chose to have mine zapped.. It was 35 minutes under the Cyberknife machine. Then life continued on.
Jill_S:
--- Quote from: PaulW on October 26, 2015, 07:03:37 pm ---2) Since I am too much of a realist to believe the stuff above (unless I get some help), maybe you can convince me that I will not necessarily turn out to have a large or relatively fast-growing AN. I am concerned that it will be because I have facial sensation issues and I read that the AN has to grow out of the ear canal and press on the trigeminal nerve for this to happen. Which would mean fairly large, no? And with this sudden hearing loss, fairly aggressive? But on the other hand, my hearing on the left side is still fine for speech in most circumstances and the tinnitus I have is very mild. If the AN were large enough to touch the trigeminal nerve, wouldn't it have already destroyed most of the hearing on that side? Wouldn't I have more pronounced balance issues?
There are lots of things that can cause these problems, most are less trouble than an Acoustic Neuroma.
As for some of your other questions.
Does it need to be big to touch the Trigeminal Nerve.... No... it could be 1cm. The distance from the edge of the Internal Auditory Canal to the Trigeminal Nerve is only about 5mm.
Does Rapid Hearing Loss mean fast growing tumour? again no. Lots of people have lost their hearing suddenly with a 1.0cm tumour.
I lost most of my hearing in 12 hours and my tumour was 10mm at the time. Fortunately it came back.
There are people that have had no hearing and poor balance with a 1cm tumour, and others who had no problems at all with an 8cm tumour...
You really cant tell.. The majority of AN's are detected before 3cm
Try and stay calm there are lots of things it can be.. and even if it is an AN, you may be able to simply observe it, as many do not grow.
I chose to have mine zapped.. It was 35 minutes under the Cyberknife machine. Then life continued on.
--- End quote ---
Thank you! Very, very helpful!
KeepSmiling:
I agree with those here who advise you to get an MRI immediately. Look at my posts here and you will see how we regret it deeply that the first otolaryngologist that my husband saw in 2009 did NOT mention anything about an MRI or an acoustic neuroma. Then one day in November 2012 he realized he was deaf. If only we could turn back the hands of time and replay this. If only we could have questioned more about the tinnitus. My advice: Push your doc to order the MRI now. If the doc won't do it, find another doc. Get it done.
Don't delay-Good luck!
Jill_S:
Yes, the MRI appointment (with *and* without contrast) is set up for Monday at 5pm. Yay!
I was worried about issues of claustrophobia and loudness, so I did a little more on-line research. In the process, I learned something about myself. I now believe I have cleithrophobia (fear of being trapped) rather than claustrophia (fear of enclosed spaces) as I have always thought. Interesting. As long as I know that there's someone there to help me out, it shouldn't matter how tight it is. We'll see. I'm also pretty good at the deep breathing thing.
I checked out videos of MRI's on-line and they do seem to make a lot of startling and very loud noises. Potentially a problem with the serious hyperacusis I now have in the bad ear. I'll have to make sure to bring good ear plugs.
I'll let you all know the results when I get them.
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